Fastener

ABSTRACT

Decorations, badges, insignia, etc., worn on clothing, are held by pins or nail-like projections of various lengths which penetrate the fabric. The decoration is usually held in place by sliding some sort of holding device onto said pin or nail-like projection. Because of the design of the holding device, if the pin is extraordinarily long, or the fabric it is placed upon is thin, the decoration will not lay flush to the fabric. In addition, most fasteners, after a short period of time, lose their holding ability. Subsequently, both the fastener and the decoration are lost. This invention eliminates both problems by holding the decoration flush to the fabric, and not readily wearing out.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO ELATED APPLICATIONS

-   U.S. Pat. No. 1,368,878 February 1921 Bandell -   U.S. Pat. No. 1,690,129 November 1928 Prentiss -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,948 May 1958 Blake -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,500 November 1958 Nyret -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,302 Regan, jr. etal -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,221 December 1970 Thorn -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,188 Jun. 1992 Loda

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE MENTION

Ribbons, honorary medals, and other insignia are typically affixed to the lapel or breast of a uniform using one or more ribbon supports. The ribbon, medal or insignia typically has a bar-shaped or otherwise generally flat holding structure, and the ribbon support assembly typically consists of one or a spaced-apart pair of retainer spikes projecting rearward from the back sure of the holding structure which are intended to penetrate through the fabric of the uniform. The ribbon itself is thus retained on the outside surface of the uniform without the support assembly being visible.

However, such ribbon support assemblies have the disadvantage that the ribbon bar, medals, or decoration may often sag or appear to be loose, particularly if it has substantial weight and/or the length of the s pike(s) or penetrating pin(s) is long in relation to the thickness of the fabric being penetrated. Plastic shims, spacers, and adhesive-backed foam rubber spacers are available. However, some of these devices are inconvenient to handle and are mainly for abnormally long spikes (generally on ribbon bars). The most generally used fastener, to which a spacer is adhered, has wings or arms which are squeezed to allow the insertion of a spike or pin, then released, which will apply pressure to the spike or pin. Continuous use causes the arms or wings to lose tension, which in turn causes the fastener to lose its holding ability.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In order to overcome the disadvantage of the prior art, a principal objective of the invention is to provide an improved fastener, that regardless of spike or pin length, eliminates sagging or a loose appearance of ribbon bars, name tags, medals and decorations mounted on the fabric of a uniform.

In a support assembly such as for mounting ribbons, medals, and other decorations on the outside surface of a fabric layer, of the type including a holding structure having a decorative portion on a forward surface thereof for penetrating through the fabric layer, the invention comprises the improvement of a fastener having a polyurethane disc, with a flexible protective vinyl coated polyester fabric back. The fastener comprising of a flexible back having a double layer of fabric which cannot be penetrated through normal wear and tear, and polyurethane disc which will retain the rearward projecting pin or spike or the ribbon bar, insignia, name tag, or decoration regardless of spike or pin length and or weight of the decoration.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention considered in conjunction with the drawings, as follows:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved ribbon bar support assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side schematic view of the improved ribbon support assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, a ribbon bar support, medal, or decoration 5 with a rearward projecting spike or pin 6 of a given length L fixed to the back surface of the decoration 5 for penetrating through any fabric layer 4. The decoration 5 is mounted on the outside surface of the uniform, or fabric layer, with the spike 6 pushed through the fabric layer 4 and the small opening 7 at bottom of fastener 1, and the polyurethane disc 2.

The spike 6 typically has a length L of about 0.25 inch. The decoration, medal, and/or insignia, may have one or more spikes.

In accordance with the invention, the improved ribbon bar, decoration, medal, etc., support assembly 1, includes a rated shore A 60 polyurethane disc 2, approximately 3/32 inch thick, ¼ inch diameter, enclosed in a brass ferrule-like shell receptacle. To prevent the spike or pin from penetrating the vinyl coated polyester back, a double layer of polyester protects the wearer, because there is little or no pressure on the polyester fabric at this point, and because of the toughness of the coated polyester, it cannot be penetrated by the spike or pin. The flexibility of the back, allows it to receive pins or spikes of various lengths, in addition to allowing the fastener to be down onto the entire length of the pin or to its hilt, thus allowing a flush fit and neat appearance.

In the preferred embodiment, the protective back is a continuous loop, enclosing the polyurethane disc 2. The vinyl coated polyester fabric 3 is doubled where protection to the wearer is most needed, allowing approximately ¼ inch of open space to accept spikes and pins of various lengths. The fastener's holding ability is due to the nature of the polyurethane disc 2, which is once it has been penetrated, the polyurethane wants to return to its original solid state. Therefore, when penetrated by spike 6, a resistance is created of sufficient force to hold all spikes and pins firmly. When the spike is removed from the polyurethane, the opening that was made by the spike, closes, allowing the fastener to be reused indefinitely. The improved fastener can be used for the mounting of other objects, such as tie clasps, or other clothing accessories. 

1. A fastener for mounting military ribbon bars, medals, or other decoration on the outside surface of a fabric layer, such as a shirt or uniform including a mountable ribbon bar, medal or like decoration; a holding structure having said decorations on a forward surface thereof, one or more rearward projecting retainer spikes or pins of a given length fixed to a back surface thereof for penetrating through the fabric layer, one or more fasteners for retaining respective ends of the spikes or pins on an inside surface of the fabric layer and prevent the ribbon bar, medal, or decoration from sagging thereon when the end of the spike or pin is retained by the fastener on the inside surface of the fabric.
 2. A fastener with a flexible non-penetrable back of approximately 5/32″ wide, with enough flexibility to allow reception of various spike or pin lengths to allow the fastener to abut to the inside of the fabric surface, and also allow the insignia or decoration to lay as flat as possible.
 3. A fastener which will continue to hold tightly regardless of continuous use, unlike the presently used fastener which has a pair of arms or wings which are squeezed to allow insertion of a pin or spike and through normal use, loses its tension and holding ability.
 4. A fastener which needs no adhesive addition or spacer to accept a variety of spike or pin lengths to hold ribbon bars, medals, insignia or decorations, etc., flush to the exterior of the fabric worn. 